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At-a-glance: Labour conference

A NEW, NEW LABOUR?

Sarah Brown said her husband was "messy and noisy", but also her "hero"

Well, the leader has spoken. Gordon Brown used his big speech to declare he was fighting not for a fourth term, but for "the first Labour government of this new global age". There were plenty of headline grabbing policy announcements, including free childcare, better cancer treatment and a referendum on electoral reform. Some ideas will certainly prove controversial, not least state-supervised homes for teenage mothers. For the second year running at a Labour conference, the prime minister was introduced by his wife, who called him her "hero". Whether the party - and more importantly the public - agrees with her, remains to be seen.
We'll change the world again - Brown

CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

Gordon Brown drew cheers from delegates - and probably from Lib Dems elsewhere - when he announced plans for a referendum on electoral reform.
Voting reform referendum pledged

Another big promise was free care in the home for elderly people with the most serious health needs. The health secretary later said some 350,000 people in England could benefit.
'Free personal care' for elderly

Justice Secretary Jack Straw pledged to increase support for victims of crime and bereaved relatives. He said £11m would be made available in the first two years.
Straw pledges more victim support

Comedian Eddie Izzard was among those cheering Gordon Brown on

Home Secretary Alan Johnson made anti-social behaviour his focus, insisting Labour would do more to tackle "problem families" in the wake of the Fiona Pilkington case.
Johnson pledge to tackle disorder

Ben Bradshaw told conference that sport, culture and the arts would be "decimated" under a Tory government. The culture, media and sport minister also stressed Labour's support for the BBC.
Sport 'a luxury' under Tories

Communities Secretary John Denham took aim at local authority chief executives whose salaries he said had got "out of hand". He also lambasted "Cameron's councils".
Council pay out of hand - Denham

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson issued a rallying cry to the Labour faithful, insisting victory at the next election was still very much within reach. If he could come back from political no-man's land, so could the party, he said.
Election up for grabs - Mandelson

Treasury Chief Secretary Liam Byrne warned Labour not to ease up on efforts to stimulate the UK economy. He said the government had so far helped thousands of people to keep their jobs and homes, but cutting back now would threaten the whole process of recovery.
Don't remove support now - Byrne

WHO SAID WE WERE GLOOMY?

Ed Balls, Ben Bradshaw, Peter Mandelson and David Miliband see the lighter side of Operation Fightback (Pics: AP)

SMOKE SIGNALS

...now you don't

Are we witnessing a rare victory for the tobacco lobby at a Labour Party conference? On Monday we reported that the Tobacco Retailers' Alliance were not best pleased that their conference stand in Brighton had been placed beneath a sign saying The Killers. It was advertising a forthcoming show by an indie band and was clearly (we think) not a deliberate attempt to undermine the group's campaign against tobacco smuggling and tougher restrictions on the display of cigarettes in corner shops.

Now you see it...

But still, pointed out one of the Alliance representatives on the stand, "it is not very helpful". Now - less than 24 hours later - The Killers sign has been replaced by the conference organisers with a Labour Party banner. No one on the Tobacco Retailers stand wanted to talk about why the sign had been changed but they seemed a bit happier than they were on Monday...

DUCKING QUESTIONS

The launch of an election campaign website by a trade union would not normally be cause for huge media interest but the Unite stand in the conference hall was swamped by photographers on Monday afternoon.The reason soon became clear when boxing champ Amir Khan weighed in. Dressed in a smart suit and flanked by the burly frames of union bosses Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, he posed for photos and batted away questions about why he was at the Labour conference when he had also been pictured with David Cameron. Perhaps only the world light welterweight champ would have felt confident enough to say the Tory leader was "a good friend of mine" when surrounded by such union heavyweights. He ducked another question about which way he planned to vote and said he was just interested in getting people fit ahead of the 2012 Olympics. So why was he promoting the site? "I came with a friend - Richard", he said, gesturing at sports minister Richard Caborn.

NUCLEAR STAND-OFF

The pro-nuclear sub campaign - with the CND stand just visible in the background

There is a small-scale nuclear war going on in the bowels of the Brighton centre. Organisers have placed the CND stand virtually next door to a campaign to build more nuclear submarines. There have been a few mild skirmishes as the fellows from the union-backed Keep Our Future Afloat campaign have attempted to convince the anti-nuclear brigade of the error of their ways. "I had conversation with them about Trident. I told them it hasn't cost anything yet because it hasn't even been ordered," said Terry Waiting, of the union campaign, who says he was once a member of CND and even went on the Aldermarston marches. The centrepiece of the CND stand is a digital display showing how much Trident has cost since conference began....

'MY HERO'

Sarah Brown paid a glowing tribute to her husband before his big speech

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